


Trust

by windsroad



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2017-10-11
Packaged: 2019-01-16 02:12:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12333390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/windsroad/pseuds/windsroad
Summary: Magnus doesn't know what to make of that scroll, but he wants to know if the Red Robe does.Taako and Merle wonder if they can trust him.A conversation that didn't happen, placed sometime in the beginning of the Suffering Game, on the way to Wonderland.





	Trust

Walking through the woods, the Red Robe appeared again.

“The path to this next relic is—dangerous. You don’t understand. The Animus Bell is—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” said Taako, waving him away. He picked a bit of fuzz off his shirt. “Doesn’t matter what it does, we’ve all heard it before, so you can just move right along.”

Taako continued walking forward, Merle following behind him. But Magnus hung back.

“Can I speak with you,” he said, addressing the Red Robe. Magnus said it as a statement, not a question. “Alone.” He was looking at the mossy ground between himself and the Red Robe, not looking at anyone directly. Taako and Merle turned back to face him, exchanging confused glances.

“I… guess?” The Red Robe’s voice was as echoing and ethereal as before, and it wore confusion oddly.

Magnus led the Red Robe farther into the forest without looking back. When he felt comfortably far, he turned on the Red Robe and drew a small scroll from his bag and waved it in the Red Robe’s skeletal face.

“What the _fuck_  is this?” he exclaimed, dashing the scroll to the ground. “It’s—I am—I can’t—”

“I _told_ you not to look at it,” said the Red Robe, voice desperate. “This will make everything— _so_ much harder. You couldn’t understand, even if I told you. You were—”

Static.

“See, that doesn’t even make any sense!” yelled Magnus. “How can it you be staticed out if I already drank the voidfish’s piss! If I—and you can’t—that means—” Magnus let out a growl of frustration and clutched his head. “FUCK, I can’t even think it!”

“I know,” said the Red Robe. “And it’s gonna be confusing for a while.”

“ _If this means—if this is true, how can I expect them to trust me?_ ”

Silence.

“Take a moment, Magnus. Calm down before you go back.”

 

From where Taako and Merle were standing, they couldn’t hear anything Magnus or the Red Robe were saying besides muffled, excitable yelling.

Taako and Merle eyed each other curiously.

“Do you think that’s okay?” said Merle. He scratched the back of his head with his wooden hand. “Those two, y’know, talking alone together?”

Taako was quiet for a moment. “Do you trust him? Magnus?”

“Do you?”

Taako looked away. “I don’t know.”

Merle looked confused and almost hurt by Taako’s answer. But before he could say anything more, the Red Rope appeared in front of them once again in a red shiver. “Magnus will be back soon.”

“Is Magnus okay?” demanded Merle. “Did you do something to him?”

“No—but he’ll be alright.”

Taako frowned. “Yeah, what exactly is going on here?” he said. “Because we were told pretty explicitly _not_ to trust you, and then Magnus went off to talk to you alone, _after kidnapping some boys and putting them in his pocket workshop, I may add_ , so I’m pretty sure something’s up.”

“Ah,” said the Red Robe. “I see.” He shook his shadowy head. “It’s not up to me to say.”

“Of course it isn’t.” Merle rolled his eyes while Taako scoffed and tossed his hair.

 

Magnus stalked back to the group. He glanced at the Red Robe before looking back to the ground again. “Come on, let’s get going.”

No one said anything as Taako and Merle cast worried looks at each other, Magnus, and the Red Robe.

“Just be careful,” the Red Robe finally said, before vanishing in another red shimmer.

The three were silent again.

“What did you need to talk about?” asked Merle. “You know, those Red Robes—”

Taako kneed Merle, which came up roughly to Merle’s side.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” said Magnus. “I’ll tell you about it later. Maybe.”

“You know we trust you, right, Magnus?” Taako said. He looked hard at Magnus, as if he could convince Magnus to make eye contact if he tried enough. Magnus wasn’t sure if he was lying. Neither was Taako.

Magnus nodded. “Right,” he said. “Thanks.”


End file.
